Ice-rest and water-cooler.



vv. RKBYBS. ICB REST AND WATER COOLER. APPLICATION FILED AUG.8, 1910.

Patented June 20, 1911.

' N72] 16de Y with an 'inlet pipe 14- conimunicating with panyingdrawings, whereinsectional view on line 4-4 of Fig. 2.

WALTER F. KEYES, 0F LA GRANGE, ILLINOIS.`

ICE-REST `.AND WATER-COOLER.

fl'o all whom it may concern:

Be it. known that I, lVAL'rER F. KEYES, a citizen of the United States,residing at La Grange, in the county of Cook and State of Illinois, haveinvented certain new and "se ful Improvements in Ice-ltests and la siCoolers, of which the'following is a specification.

My invention relatesto ilnprovelnentsin, ice rests and water coolers,for refrigerators, ice boxes, and the like.

One 0f the objects of my invention is to provide a water cooler forrefrigerators by constructing the ice rest, or ice supporting table,hollow, so that additional valuable space for cooling, within therefrigerator, will not be required.

Another specific object of my invention is to provide in the devicea'tortuous path for the water, as it is being drawn therefrom,- and anormal, shorter, independent path for the downward movement ofthe watersuperinduced by circulation due to diiference of temperature of thewater.

Another object of my invention is to cover the metallic structure,containing the water conduit, with cement or like substance.

Another object of my invention'is to generally improve the constructionof such devices.

Other and further objects of the invention will readily beconieapparentto persons skilled in the art from the following description taken inconjunction with the accom- Figure 1 is a central. sectional view of mycooling device and a refrigerator; in which it is contained; Fig. 2 is abroken-away plan view of the same with parts of the top plate removed toShow the `interior of the water' space; Fig. 3 is a cross sectional viewon line 3 3 of Fig. 2; and Fig. 4 is a longitudinal In all of the views,the same'reference characters indicate similar parts.

10 indicates an ice chest or refrigerator of th'e usual construction. L

11 shows a slatted lloor of the ice chamb er, 12. f

13 indicates generally my water cooler the interior space, for water,within the device.

An outlet pipe, 15, communicates with the water space at a diagonallyopposite corner, as shown in Fig. 2.

Specification or Letters Patent. llfattgnted June 20, 1911i.,

Application filed August 8, 1910. serial No.l 576,034.

A rectilinear border frame, 16, may be composed of wrought, cast, ormalleable iron, having preferably flanges, 16 and 16, projectinglaterally therefrom, to provide the outer walls or boundary of thewatercontaining space or chamber. Flat side plates, 17 and 18, aresecured to opposite sides of the frame 16 by means of rivets 19 o rother similar fastening.

In order that the Water shall be cooled in" transit through the device,I provide a relatively`long tortuous path for the water y' as it isbeing drawn through the device that it may remain sui'liciently longtherein to be cooled or chilled. To this end, I place a number. ofseparating plates' or battles extending to opposite sides of therectangular frame and of width substantially equal to that of the4 frameso that the side plates will make' contact with the edge surfaces ofthese balie plates.

As the device is to be connected to a water system, and thereforesubjected to consider,- abl pressure, it becomes necessary to' providestay bolts placed at intervals sufficiently frequent and secured to theside plates to withstand the pressure. For this purpose, I form in eachbaille plate an eye 2() by bending the plate back upon itself, therebyproviding an opening for the reception of the stay bolts, 21, as clearlyshown in Fig. 2. The stay bolts are preferably headed as at 22, and areprovided with nuts. The battle walls, 23, act as separators againstwhich the side plates, 17 and 18, are tightly drawn by means of thebolts, thereby making Aa water tight joint between the inner surfaces ofthe plates, and the edge of the separating bailles, and forming positiveshoulders against which the battles may gte/linedly secured.

Thus, it will be seen that the device so far described provides arelatively `long narrow path from the inlet 14C to the outlet 15, so

and valves which, when the water is {lowing freely through the devicefrom inlet 14 to outlet 15, ,operate te form the 'tortuous l0() that thewater in passing through the device path as above described, but which,when the water is not in such rapid iiow, autoinatically open to providea path which does not materially impede a constant directlydownward flowof cooled water from the upper tothe lower endof Vthe device along itsbottom surface, but which directs the upw-ardiy'trending, relativelywarmer, water 1n a longer path along the upper surface of the deviceuntil it reaches the portion directly ice-cooled at the top of theincline, whence it may again descend in the processv of circulationSpecifically, each of the baille plates 23 is provided with a notch, 24,at one end of its body, anda perforation 25 at the other end. Eachperforation is provided with a ap valve, as at 26, riveted to the end ofthe late 23 by means of rivets 27. This flap va ve is preferably made ofa piece of very thin metal, such' as brass, bronze, or copper, or othermaterial of suitable qualities, bent away from the perforation 25.adapted to b'e ressed against the side of the separator sufficiently toclose the perforation upon the slight pressure ap lied against thesurface thereof when water ows against it, but to-open said perforationwhen the flow has ceased by 'closure of outlet 15. Further to facilitatecirculation, I provide a longer path for the upwardly travelin warmerwaterI than for the descending coole water, so that as much' heat aspossible may be absorbed from said water as it passes up toward thecooled area directly under the ice. To this end, instead of runnino thebattle plates 23 directly across the evice from side to side, I preferto incline them slightly as shown in Fig. 2, so as to provide l it willbe observe wedge-shaped channels therebetween, the larger ends of saidchannels being at alternate sides of the structure for operation ashereinafter described. y

Leveling screws, 29 land 30, arel provided for varying the elevation ofthe structure with respect to its o posite, sides. In Fig. that ,therear side of the device is elevated above that of the front side, andthat the ice is' placed u pn the high side of the device, this, thereore, being the coolest portion of the device, the melted ice watercovering andcoolingthe inclined'unoccupied part of theice rest orcooler.

I preferably cover the entire structure with. lastic material, 'such ascement, 31, to provi e' a straight, relatively smooth; and durablesurface upon which to rest the ice, which can'be readily and easilycleansed,

and which tends topaeserve the iron surfaces of the device fromcorrosion'. The cement surface I have found to be edective in holdtendency of melting ice to cling to a surface upon which it pressesthrough perfect correspondence of the meeting surfaces, I have foundthat very fine-grained. cement may be used, if desired, or evenmaterials with still smoother surfaces than cement, which retain the icein any given position on the slight incline with equal facility. Itfurther acts as a body for preserving a 'more uniform temperature of thewater contained within the water receptacle, absorbing and giving upheat slowly and-practically unaffected by sudden drafts of air, as Vwhenthe refrigerator is opened.V Thus, it will be noted that the coolingeffect of 'the ice resting u on the upper edge of said cement surface wil cause cooling of the coating body in that locality while in otherlocalities the body'is relatively warmer, so securing more uniformity oftemperature differences than would result if the casing were notrovidedwith such a slowly heated and cooled surrounding coating. Thelarge mass being'more eflicient than mere coils of pipes. i

The full-line tailed arrows show the direction of the water flow as itis bein drawn through the device. When it strikes the flaps 26 in itspassage through the channels, it closes them and is thereby forced totake a path through the channels provided, by

`means of which the water is retained in the device longer than if. itwere tol pass directly from the ipe 14 to the pipe 15, diagonally acrossdie water space.

lWhen the flow of water through the deviceis stopped, and there is nodifference of water pressure therein from the inlet 14 to the outlet l5,the Hap valves 26automatically open, thereby providing an open, ing ateach end of the separating plates, 23'. The water that is contained atthe highest point of the device immediately under the ice being colder,will naturally fall to the bottom' of the device, nearer which theoutlet pipe 15 is connected. The tailless arrows show the direction' ofthe water in falli from the highest tothe lowest altitude, aid thedotted arrows showthe direction of the water as it rises from the lowerto the higher altitude along `the upper surface of the device adjacent"the strips 23. aS. a result of difference o'f temperature in the processof circulation. rlhe warmer water being in contact with the lowerseparating strip, and f the stri being inclined slightly, the water willfol'ow the incline and gradually creep along under itslower surfaceuntil it cornesv to its valved o ening throu 'h which it will past, andit wil then strike t e lower surface of the next bafile Wall, which isalso provided with an inclined-surface, and will follow the undersurface of it to the next valved opening, and so on the water willgradually reach the top of the device. The water that is immediatelyunder the ice, or the part of the highest altitude, will, for the samereason pass downward to the bottom surface, its path heilig shown by thetailless arrows. It will pass down through the normal openings, and thevalved openings to the lower surface, and thus a positive circulation ofthe water is automatically produced.

While I have herein describedin some detail a particular embodiment ofmy invention, it will be readily apparent to persons skilled in the artthat numerous changes in.

the details of construction and arrangement of the parts thereof mightbe made without departure from the spirit of my invention and within thescope of the appended claims.

What I claim. is:

l. In an ice rest for cooling water, a at hollow casing having a datupper surface adapted to support ice, and being provided with an inletand an outlet for water, baffles 'in said casinfr extending between thesides thereof, saidialtles being each inclined to form between adjacentbattles a series of gradually widening paths for "water, and means forsupporting said casin at an inclination whereby water' may ow downwardlyfrom the inlet through said series of paths from the narrower tothelwider ends thereof.

2. In an ice `rest for cooling water, a flat hollow casing having a latupper lsurface for receivingice, and being provided with an inlet and adiagonally opposite outlet for water, ballles in said casing extendingbetween the sides thereof adapted and arranged to provide a tortuouspath therein 'from the inlet to the outlet, saidbaiiles being eachinclined to form between adjacent baffles a series of gradually wideningtransverse paths for water, and screw-threaded supports attached to thebottom of said casing whereby the casing may be `held at an adjustableinclination to cause waterto flow downwardly from said inlet int'othenarrow end of a transverse path, andfsuccessively through the remainingtransverse paths from narrow to wider ends thereof, for discharge fromthe wider end of-the last said transverse path through' said outlet.

3. In an ice rest for cooling water, a fiat :hollow casing comprising aframe, op osite plates held in spaced relation by said 'ame to providetherebetween an inclosed water space, said frame being provided with aninlet and a diagonally opposite outlet opening for said inclosed space,batlles extending from side to side of said frame, said bafflesl beinginclined i1' alternately opposite directions to provide a series ofgradually widening transverse paths, and each baliie being provided witha perforation for flowof water therethrough rom the wider portion .of atransverse path into the narrower portion of the next succeeding path,and supporting means for said casing to holdvthe walls at intervalsbetween said plates, and

`extending between opposite sides of the frame to form wedge-shapedchannels therebetween, each channel being provided with a free openingat one end anda valved opening at the other, said valves adapted to beclosed by the forcible passage of the water through the channels andmeans for inclining said structure, an inlet connection at the high sidethereof for water under pressure, and an outlet connection at the lowside for discharge of water.'

5. In a device of the character described, a flat hollow structurecomprising a frame, parallel plates secured thereto, baille-wall platesat intervals between said side walls, each plate artially surroundingsta bolts, and stay olts taking through said side plates and within theopenings provided within vsaid balile plates.

6. In a device of the character described, a flat hollowstructure'coniprising a frame, parallel plates secured thereto, baillewall plates at intervals between the side walls,l stay bolts takingthrough said side plates,

and a cement coating applied to the outside surface of said structureoverlying the ends surface. Y

7. 'In an' ice rest for cooling water, areceptacle having an inlet andan outlet, means for supporting saidv receptacle at an inclination tothe horizontal, means in said receptacle providing a direct downwardpath for cooled water and a tortuous path for upwardly travelingwarmerwater, and a plasticfmaterial surrounding said receptacle toprovide a substantially vuniform integral coating sluggish in itsresponse to temperature variation.

8. In an ice rest for cooling water, a recept-acle having an inlet andan outlet, and a plastic material surrounding said receptacle to providea substantially uniform integral coating relatively slow in response totemperature variation, said coating providing a substantially straightupper surface to receive ice.

9. In an ice rest for cooling water, a water receptacle having an inletand an outlet, a

lastic-material surrounding said receptacle o provide an integralhomogeneous coating,

the upper surface of said coating being substantially straight forreceiving thereon -a said receptacle at an adjustable inclination, andmeans whereby the cooling effect of said ice body acting through saidcoating impels a circulation of water throughout said receptacle.

l0. In an ice' rest for cooling Water, a hollow flat receptacle, 'meansfor supporting ysaid receptacle at an inclination, and baffles in saidreceptacle extending from side 'to side thereof, each baille having atone end a perforation of slightly less diameter than the distancebetween the top and bottom of said casing and at its other end aperforation extending from the bottom of said casing to a point midway4betwen the bottom and top thereof, 'whereby the 'cooling eil'ect of abody of ice upon the upper edge of said receptacle may impel acirculation of water directly toward the lower edge of said casing andupwardly along the baffles, as described.

11. In a device of the characterdescribed, a flat hollow structurecomprising a frame, parallel platesysecured thereto, bafie walls atintervals between lsaid plates and extending between opposite sides ofthe frameto form channels,.said plates rovided With a. free opening atone end and) a valved opening at the other, said valves adapted to beclosed by the forcible assage of Water through said channels, and) meansfor inclining said structure, an inlet connection at the high sidethereoffor Water under pressure, and an outlet connection at the lowside for discharge of Water.

In testimony whereof hereunto set'iny vhand in the presence of tWoWitnesses.

WALTER E. KEYES.

